YS Jagan Marches Triumphantly Through Godavari Districts

Kommineni Srinivasa Rao

Leader of opposition in Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly and YSRCP Chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy completed his Praja Sankalpa Yatra on a highly successful note in West Godavari district and has now moved into another key area, East Godavari district. It is widely believed that these two districts hold the key to power in Andhra Pradesh and the previous round of elections, and the ones earlier, in a sense, proved this. The party which won the most number of seats in these two districts came to power in Andhra Pradesh.

In the 2014 elections, in West Godavari district alone, 14 out of 15 seats went to the Telugu Desam party, while one lone seat was won by their ally, BJP. The YSRCP did not get a single seat at that time and though the party could get a sizeable number of votes, it could not win any seats. This proved to be a serious setback for the party then. There are several reasons for this. For one thing, Jana Sena leader, actor-turned-politician, Pawan Kalyan, lent his support to the TDP. As a result, his fans and followers and a section of the Kapu community sailed along with the TDP-BJP alliance. The Modi wave at that time was also a factor.

Chandrababu Naidu‘s promise of loan waivers to farmers and DWCRA women’s groups also attracted these sections in large numbers. However, all that is a part of history now. Today, people feel that the TDP and Chandrababu cheated farmers, women and other sections of society. Moreover, not only did Chandrababu Naidu not implement the promise of Kapu reservation, but left the community feeling offended and insulted. The manner in which the Kapu leader, Mudragada Padmanabham and his family members were treated by the police is something that lovers of democracy and the people at large, cannot forget. No one with any degree of self-respect would tolerate such behaviour. This was the general feeling.

Chandrababu Naidu‘s letter became public in which he is reported to have described two lawyers among BCs, as incompetent and ineligible to become judges, has enraged members of BC communities. Added to all this, it is being said that the atrocities and excesses of some MLAs in West Godavari district, their corrupt activities and involvement in illegal sand mining, is causing widespread anger and disgust. If Denduluru MLA Chintamaneni Prabhakar earned notoriety because of his high-handed behaviour in the case of Musunuru MRO, Vanajakshi, TDP MLA from Tanuku, was reported to have misbehaved with an SI, provoking outrage.

No police case has been registered in the Godavari Pushkarams incident in which 29 innocent lives were lost due to Chandrababu Naidu’s obsession with publicity. Against such a background, YS Jagan has been stressing upon Navarathnalu on which governance under Rajanna Rajyam would be predicated. The manner in which the YSRCP chief has been interacting with people from all sections of society and reaching out to the weakest of the weak, has stumped many analysts. Be it the ailing, elderly and infirm or someone who has a complaint, YS Jagan lends a patient ear to them and treats them with great respect. His patience has left people spellbound, as has his concern for all segments of society.

People see him walking in the scorching summer heat and the way in he has been interacting with them. The feeling that he deserves to be given an opportunity this time around is growing by the day. No wonder the TDP leadership is feeling increasingly rattled by the growing popularity of YS Jagan as seen by the mammoth crowds in every single village and town of West Godavari district through which his Padayatra has proceeded. The spectacular welcome accorded to YS Jagan as he stepped into Rajahmundry from West Godavari district across the iconic bridge, accompanied by thousands of followers and supporters, augurs well for the YSRCP chief. The overwhelming popularity of YS Jagan in both the Godavari districts is a welcome sign for the party.